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ND: Tsipras’s ‘false hopes’ have been dashed

Greece’s conservative opposition has criticized Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s speech at Thessaloniki International Fair Saturday, in which he laid out the leftist-led government’s economic program for the coming year, describing it as a “swan song by a cynical prime minister who has deceived, humiliated, impoverished and divided the Greek people.”

“Mr Tsipras’s false hopes have been dashed,” New Democracy, which has a solid lead in opinion polls, said in a statement.

“Mr Tsipras has already gone down in history for the huge and unnecessary disaster that he has brought upon the country. No one listens to him anymore, simply because no one believes him anymore,” it said.

On Saturday, Tsipras announced plans to lower the value added tax (VAT) and the property levy ENFIA as of 2021 and 2019 respectively in a speech aimed at signalling a new era for Greece following its formal exit from the bailout programs.

Conservative leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis will deliver a speech at TIF next weekend.

Meanwhile, a new public opinion poll published Sunday gives New Democracy an 11 percent lead over ruling SYRIZA, with 29.9 percent of respondents saying they would vote for the conservative party if elections were held now, against 19 percent who voiced support for the incumbent leftists.